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Tales From the Barracks/Second Seal Scramble
"Er...what is this...exactly?" Knifez asked, staring at the object in Anna's outstretched hand. "It's a Second Seal," the merchant chirped. In her palm was a silver and blue orb that glowed with a mysterious aura. "It allows a unit with enough experience to change classes completely! Mages can become Knights, and healers can become useful." Grace made an angry noise that sounded like several curse words strung together. "The last order of Second Seals got recalled for 'faulty stabilization' or whatever, so I figured we could get some kicks out of them!" "With all due respect," Sam interjected, "that sounds like a terrible idea." "It could be interesting," Joos admitted. "I mean, imagine throwing one at an attacking Paladin and they just turn into a wimpy little cleric." "Ahem!" Grace huffed. "Er...not you of course," Joos said quickly. Grace glared at him. "Anyways, thanks for donating these to us Anna." Knifez just shrugged. "We're at war. We don't have time for games or amusement. But on the off chance these things are useful, we'll store them in the convoy." "Great!" Anna said happily. "I'll just leave this box here and go get the rest. I'll need some help though." "How many boxes are there?" George asked, rolling up in his wheelchair. "Um...forty-eight? But hey, since you have some wheels we can probably stack about eight boxes in your lap!" "Remind me to continue my studies in levitation spells," George murmured as he, Green, Heroi, and Daniel went to go help Anna. Once all forty-eight boxes were safely stored in the convoy, they were eventually forgotten about until long after the fight with Grima. Miraculously, all of the Shepherds and future children had survived the war and it would be time to start training a few of the new Shepherds who were joining the fighting force. Don't worry, the rest of the Shepherds were still fighting fit, and George did end up figuring out that levitation spell. People had grown up, and two bunny babies had been born. Not all Shepherds had changed that much however... Eddie rubbed his hands together mischievously as he tiptoed down the stairs into the convoy. He lifted up a healing staff, allowing its glow to light up the labels on the boxes. "Come on Levin Swords...where are you?" After promoting to a Trickster unit, Eddie discovered he had quite the affinity for magic. He wasn't as good of a healer as Grace or Rachel, or even Anna, but his Rescue staffs had actually come in handy when people got separated. His magical abilities even allowed him to use Levin Swords, but with the magic swords being a rare commodity after the war, he wasn't usually given one. Levin Swords usually went to Sam, Joos, or Kayla, and sometimes Anna. But tonight, Eddie would "randomly find one" for himself. He was just about to pop the lock open when the lights in the convoy turned on. "I thought I'd find you down here," a voice said. Eddie could feel the smirk on their lips. "Don't you have a grave to go dig up or something?" Eddie asked, turning around to face Aloasa. The Sorcerer held a Dark tome under his arm and he was glaring at Eddie, not that this was anything he didn't usually do. "After all you've been through with these people, you're still going to steal from them?" Aloasa looked disgusted. "Traitor much?" "Says the guy who turned his back on his own country to save his own skin," Eddie shot back. Aloasa's grip on the tome tightened. "I've made my peace with the decision. Being a part of the Shepherds isn't as irritating as it once was. A few of them are even tolerable." His voice turned harsher than usual. "You on the other hand, are the scum under everyone's shoes." "I'm wounded," Eddie said mockingly. "I just want a sword." He looked at the boxes. "Hm...SS? Probably stands for Shocking Swords, like Levin Swords." Eddie noticed a few labels. "Warning, Dangerous, Eddie do not touch. Hm...feeling I should touch it anyway just in case they mean another Eddie." Aloasa scoffed. Eddie opened the lid and turned to face the Sorcerer again. "Don't you have someone else to depress? I think Anna supplies Naga water, maybe you should drink some." "That's it!" Aloasa snapped. "I'm gonna kill you!" He held up his Waste tome and fired the Dark magic. Eddie yelped and dove to the side. The spell hit the box, knocking it off the shelf. Inside were the unstable Second Seals which began to glow and pulse after they were exposed to the magic. Aloasa and Eddie shared fearful glances as the box exploded in a flash of white light. Aloasa's ears were filled with a buzzing noise and his vision was blurry. He was on the floor of the convoy, trying to remember what happened. He could hear the voices of other Shepherds from upstairs. "What happened?!" "What am I wearing?" "Holy shit there's a wyvern in my room!" Aloasa felt around for his tome, only to pick up a bow instead. He looked down and found himself dressed in the uniform of a Sniper. "What the..." His voice trailed off as he saw Eddie dressed in Sage robes, holding a Rescue staff. Before either of them could say anything, loud footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. They looked up and saw Knifez, dressed in the same outfit as Aloasa. "Start talking," he said sternly. The story was told, but Aloasa left out Eddie's motivation for coming down to the convoy. All of the Shepherds had been gathered up, each of them realizing they had been reclassed. Some were taking it well, but others were clearly out of their element. "So is there any way you can reverse the spell?" Knifez asked Aloasa. "I can't use Dark Magic anymore," Aloasa said. "And anyone who can probably doesn't have a good enough skill level to reverse the effects." "Anna, what do you know about Second Seals?" Knifez asked, trying to avoid eye contact with the merchant. She had been re-classed into a Dark Knight, and unfortunately her armor was a little skimpy. "Well I know if we were to use regular ones now, we'd be able to revert back to our original classes," Anna explained. "But we'd lose all experience we've built up so far. So it's better to just continue on as the classes we are now until we are able to make the complete switch." "How long will that take?" DJ asked, trying to adjust to his Sniper uniform. Anna just shrugged. Knifez sighed. "Alright, well I guess we're just sort of stuck like this. I suggest we all train as our new classes and learn from one another." And that's what they did. Josh had been reclassed into a Sorcerer, and while Dark Magic was new to him, he was able to teach the new magic wielders how to properly use offensive spells. "Magic is volatile in its rawest form," he explained to Julius, Anna, Maggie, Eddie, Heroi, Signele, and Kelsie. He had passed out Fire tomes to each of them. "You must use your abilities to control it. Feel the energy rushing through you as your shout out the name of your spell-" "FIRE!" Julius shouted, prompting others to do the same. Josh let out a cry as he ducked to avoid the balls of fire being shot everywhere. This was going to be harder than he thought. Bella and Chase walked into the royal stables, surprised to find that their Pegasus and horse were waiting for them. The two of them had been given new mounts by the Second Seal, and had assumed their old ones had been transformed. "Interesting," Bella mused, examining Chase's black Pegasus. "These are Waydrn royal symbols, so the Second Seal must teleport new mounts in for us. That's really complex magic." Chase nodded in agreement. He and Bella had basically switched classes, at least for the most part, and decided to pair up in learning to use the weapons. "A lance is different from a sword," Bella explained. "You have a long range, but overall the lance is easy to block with axes. As for tomes, you'll have to just be careful with those because I definitely don't know how to use them." "Right," Chase nodded. "And while I"m not expert, Pegasi aren't as much like horses as one would think. They're limited in how much they can move, but you won't have to worry about being knocked out of the sky with arrows." "True," Bella said. "It's nice not to be on the receiving end of these things." She pulled back the bow's string and Chase hit the ground as an arrow shot past him and hit the wall of the stables. "Heh, maybe we should work on swords first," Chase said with a nervous chuckle. "I find it interesting how the Second Seals didn't take away my ability to pick locks," Dakota mused as he undid the practice lock. He looked over at Eddie who was trying to break into a shed. "And I see it hasn't taken away your ability either." "Hey don't judge man," Eddie whined. "I need to learn how to use these tomes." Dakota sighed. "Take mine then," he tossed Eddie an Elwind. "I need to practice healing anyway." He climbed up onto his horse and rode away. Eddie giggled at how girly he thought it was that Dakota was a Valkyrie. Pika was holding archery lessons for the new bow users. Knifez, DJ, and Aloasa all ended up being Snipers, while Kayla was a Bow Knight, and Daniel and Grace were Assassins. Pika thought the best way to learn was hands-on learning, and since she had been reclassed into a Falcon Knight... "Try and hit me bitches!" Pika shouted gleefully as she and her Pegasus did somersaults in the air. Clouds of arrows flew toward them, but they expertly dodged every single one. "Pika is this really necessary?" Sam asked his wife, clutching her waist and turning a little green. He was riding with her to provide support, and also because he refused to learn to heal. As a Valkyrie, he retained his ability to use tomes and felt it was unnecessary to learn a new skill if the effects of the Second Seal were clearly reversible. "No, not really," Pika admitted. "But this is so much fun. And besides, these are blunt tipped arrows. They won't kill us, probably, they'll just hurt like a bitch." "Oh yay," Sam said sarcastically. Pika dove down. "What now?" "I have to learn to use these things too don't I?" Pika asked, holding up a javelin. "Look out below!" She clumsily threw the javelin. The bow-users scattered. Aloasa swore as the javelin grazed his side, opening up a heavy gash in his skin. "Sorry," Pika chirped as she flew past. Aloasa looked down at the blood spilling from his side and felt a familiar sensation from when he was with the Grimleal. It was a common side-effect of tampering with Dark Magic. The need for vengeance. "Special delivery!" He cackled as he pulled back the bow and aimed at Pika. There were cries for help as the arrow hit its target. Pika's Pegasus bucked and stumbled, throwing Sam and Pika to the ground. They had only been about ten feet in the air, but they were still going pretty fast. They both rolled across the dirt field as Pika's Pegasus crashed into the ground. "Somebody get a healer!" Knifez shouted. "Mason, now's your chance," Chloe said to her son. "Right Mom," Mason nodded with a determined look on his face. He ran over to Pika and held up his Heal staff. Pika's wounds slowly began to repair. The Future Kids had been reclassed into base classes, and Mason was now a Priest. This gave Chloe the chance to teach her son to heal, which was all she could do since she was now a General, and not used to moving in such clunky armor. Jayde had been changed into a Troubadour and she was now helping to heal Pika's Pegasus. Kody had ridden over to assist with the healing as well. The rest of the Shepherds on the scene had closed in around Aloasa, who was still wounded. They shouted various things at him about how he should have been more careful and that they new he couldn't be trusted. Knifez just shook his head in disappointment. Aloasa glared at them and pushed them aside, storming off into the woods. Nobody really cared to follow him and stayed focused on Pika and Sam. "Ugh, move you big ugly brute!" Florence snapped, tugging at the reins on her wyvern. She still hadn't been able to get the wyvern to leave her room. "Fine you crazy bastard, I'll go learn to use an axe on my own. Jimmy knows how to use one, I bet he'll be cooperative." "Having troubles mother?" Janice said slyly, leaning against the door-frame. "Oh, it's you," Florence said indifferently. "That's not any way to greet the daughter who came all the way from the future just to save you," Janice snapped. "The daughter who is an experienced wyvern rider as well." Florence understood what she was getting at. "Oh, so you figure that leaving such a ravishing, but taken, woman to wrestle with a dragon was too much of an injustice?" "Ravishing woman?" Janice repeated. "Are you trying to tell me I was adopted and you're giving me clues to who my birth mother is? If so, that's not hard if we're comparing them to you." Her expression softened. "Sorry, that was...harsh." Florence nodded. "I can help you with riding that wyvern, just...try not to talk too much." "Right," Florence nodded. "And uh, if you need help with anything, just holler or something." Janice nodded. She had been reclassed into a Cavalier, but she was doing fine with using lances. Jimmy and Chloe were being instructed by Taylor in how to move around in heavy armor. The task had at first been given to Kate, but Danica quickly stole her mother away (heh, thief puns) for a private lesson. "Just remember that went you move to distribute your weight evenly so the armor doesn't strain one part of your body too much," Taylor explained. Jimmy and Chloe moved forward, working on distributing their weight. Mason sat off to the side, watching. "It feels kind of weird being taught by a former student," Jimmy laughed. Taylor smiled. "How are you adjusting to your class change?" "It's been nice getting to move around a bit more," Taylor admitted, looking down at her War Cleric uniform. "And I started training with axes a little bit before this happened, so I'm doing fine." "If you ever want to learn to heal, I can give you a few pointers," Chloe offered, stumbling a little in her armor. Mason stood up, but sat back down once he saw she was okay. "I'll keep that in mind," Taylor said with a smile. "Father you need to be more careful," Harley said as she helped Sam over to a chair. Jayde stood by his side, waving her staff around. "It was just a little fall," Sam reassured her. "Your mother's already on her Pegasus again, I'm sure I'll be back on that damn horse in no time. How are you doing?" Harley looked down at her Tactician robes. "Alright. Tomes and swords aren't my thing, but I'll manage." She looked over Jayde. "How are you holding up?" "Good," Jayde shrugged. "Being a Troubadour kind of sucks, but at least I can learn how to give guys a hand." She winked and glanced over at Sam. "Your dad's kind of hot." "You know maybe a will learn to use tomes today," Harley said, taking one form her dad. "Heh," Jayde laughed. "That's a joke right? Harley? Harl?!" "Woah!" AUgustus said excitedly, dropping the Dark tome in his hand. "Dad did you see that?! I turned that slug purple!" George nodded from his wheelchair. "Yeah, not really what I meant by evil, but it's a nice touch. Even if it's only temporary, I'm sure your mom will be happy to see you throwing spells around like your dad." "That's the idea," Augustus said proudly. "But what about you?" George was a Hero, meaning his ranged attacks were limited. "I'll be fine," George promised. "I think I can get those throwing axes to work and then I'll be golden. You just keep practicing that magic of yours." "You're doing a great job Danica," Kate encouraged as her daughter slowly adjusted to the heavy armor on her back. Danica grunted and gave few tentative stabs with her lance. "I'm not used to being so restricted in movements," Danica huffed. Kate laughed. "And I'm not used to being able to move so much." Kate had been reclassed into a Trickster and was learning from the best Trickster she knew. "Using swords isn't as hard as I thought, but switching between swords and staffs is taking some getting used to." "It's all about slight of hand," Danica explained. "You have to be ready to switch between each one at any moment. It's not an easy task. Hey, why don't you go run up ahead and then use that Rescue staff to teleport me with you. Then I can try stabbing stuff and we'll both be getting practice!" "Good idea," Kate said cheerfully as she took off running across the field. Danica felt the tingling sensation as she was teleported with the Rescue staff. She gave a stab with her lance after she appeared next to Kate, and beamed at the compliments her mother gave her. "You are doing a wonderful job Spencer," Justice said admirably as he flew with Spencer over the Barracks. The duo was riding on a chestnut-colored Pegasus. "Really?" Spencer said. "Thanks!" He turned around and ended up pulling too hard on the reins. The Pegasus reared back in midair and Justice quickly helped him re-steady the mount. "Okay sorry, I lied, you're actually not very good," Justice admitted. "I was just trying to spare your feelings." "Oh," Spencer said, frowning. "Well thanks I guess." He managed a sloppy landing in front of the Barracks. "At least I managed to land on the ground that time instead of the roof." "Heh, yeah I guess," Justice chuckled. "I never took your father to have the talents of a Pegasus Knight...er...fathers?" The Future Kids had determined that their own reclass options were a combination of those of their parents. Bohl had been particularly interested in this and had began tracing back the lineages of each class. "Bohl's still working out the details, but I believe it's from Chase," Spencer recalled. "DJ was the one who trained with swords more." "And now he trains with bows too," DJ laughed, walking towards the two boys. "How's the flying Spence?" "He's not very good," Justice said casually as he walked over and started braiding the mane of Spencer's Pegasus. Spencer shot Justice a wounded look, before turning back to his father. "I chose to take up swordsmanship for a reason. How are you adjusting to using bows." "I need to start giving Pika more credit," DJ chuckled. "But all in all, it's going well. I actually came to tell Justice that Daniel and Julius are putting together a training session for sword users." Justice looked down at the sword he had in a sheath at his side. He had been reclassed into a Lord, but had yet to pick up a weapon. "I guess I better go to that," Justice sighed. "Here's hoping I can impress my dad." He jogged away, leaving DJ and Spencer alone. "So are you going to head back to your training?" Spencer asked. DJ shrugged. "Eh, how about we go flying? One dad that can fly is nice, but isn't two dads who can fly even better?" "Always," Spencer grinned as he and DJ hopped onto the Pegasus. "God dammit Justice," he mumbled as he quickly undid the braids on his Pegasus' mane. "Just a warning, Justice wasn't wrong when he said I'm not very good." "Oh I'm sure he's just throwing around some criticism to-" DJ and Spencer lurched forward and DJ instinctively wrapped his arms around his son's waist. "Okay, well maybe he was being truthful, but I'm sure we'll- okay avoid the roof!" On his way to the training session, Justice bumped into his parents. "Father! Mother! How are you?!" "Adjusting to not being able to heal people," Rachel sighed. She had been reclassed into a Dark Flier. "Pegasi are cool though, I can see why you like them." "Father I look just like you now!" Justice said excitedly. "We've both been Lords at some point." "Except I'm a Sniper now," Knifez pointed out flatly. "So if you really wanted to be like me you'd want to dress up as a Sniper." Justice's face fell and Rachel elbowed Knifez. "Don't be mean," she scolded. "Justice you look even better than your father does." "Hey I said you looked nice as a Dark Flier," Knifez whined. "Flattery will get you nowhere," Rachel said simply. "Now I'm going to go train, and no you can't come with me because you were mean to our son." With a final "hmph", Rachel walked away. "Women," Knifez muttered. He wrapped his arm around Justice. "Never get married Justice. I need to be around one person with sense in my life. You can just live with your mom and me forever." Justice gasped. "Really father?! You mean it! This is the greatest day of my life!" He jumped up and down and hugged Knifez. "Oh, um, I was joking," Knifez's words fell on deaf ears as Justice ran off to go train with the others. "Damn, nobody knows how to take a joke around here." "Spencer, glad you are making it here," Bohl said happily as Justice ran over to the crowd of swordfighters. "Being a Mercenary is tough on Bohl." "My dad said I could live with him forever!" Justice cheered, ignoring Bohl. "That is nice," Bohl said happily. "Alright everyone shut up," Julius said. He had been reclassed into a Dark Knight and after working with tomes for a bit, he went back to using a sword. Daniel was an Assassin and he had already worked on his bow practicing. "Let's all pair up and work on basic motions." Bohl walked over to Kjeld. "You'd like to partner up with Bohl?" "Huh?" Kjeld looked over at Bohl. "Oh, yeah sure I guess." "Is something wrong?" Bohl asked. "I"m just not used to using a sword," Kjeld replied. "I know this class is called a Swordmaster and all, but I've only used a sword once in my life, and that was to cut an apple." "I've never used a sword either," Bohl confessed. "Let's learn together!" Kjeld shrugged. "Sure thing bud." "I never knew shooting spells could be so much fun!" Maggie said gleefully as she shot blasts of magic into the air as Sarah and Kelsie watched. "It's not really that fun," Kelsie admitted. She was in a Mage uniform, but since she already knew how to use tomes, training seemed pointless. Plus she was kind of lazy. "I think the Second Seals hit us pretty good," Sarah mused. "I still get to use axes, you still get to use magic, and Maggie still gets to...um...shoot stuff. I guess." Sarah was a War Cleric. "By the way, think you could show your mom how to work a staff?" "It's not that hard," Kelsie sighed. "But sure." "I...I don't think this is such a good idea," Joos admitted as he nervously sat on top of his Griffon. He had spent the past hour training with Green and Ewisko to use axes. Green was a War Priest now, and all he had to get used to was being without Minerva. Ewisko had gone from being a Hero to a Warrior, so he already knew how to use axes to an extent. "Being in the air really isn't as scary as I thought," Joanne called down to him from atop her Pegasus. Out of all the reclasses, Joanne seemed to have adjusted the best. As a Falcon Knight, she was already used to using lances, and she had gotten the hang of healing fairly quickly. "Okay," Joos sighed. "I can do this. No wait, can't do this. Nevermind. Fuck that." "Joos," Signele said, walking over to him. "Let me talk to him for you." She knelt down and whispered in the griffon's ear. Then she stood back up. "We have reached an understand. He will guard you with his life and we will name him and his wife as Jayde's godparents. "Doesn't she already have godparents?" Joos asked. Signele shrugged. "It's not like she exists in this timeline anyway." "Hm, true. Speaking of that, how are our two actual kids?" "They're safe," Signele promised. She climbed onto the back of Joos's griffon. "Let's fly." The flying actually wasn't that bad once Joos opened his eyes. He and Signele circled around the Barracks. "How are the Sage robes?" Joos asked. Signele wrinkled her nose. "They smell like magic. I wish I had Tactician robes instead." "You can wear mine when we get this reclassing mess cleaned up," Joos told her. "You're the best." "Damn straight." Meanwhile, out in the middle of the woods, Aloasa had stopped running. He was breathing heavily and he was woozy from lack of blood loss. He propped himself up against a tree and caught his breath. "Those bastards...if they knew what I've been through. Damn them." "Lost?" A voice asked. Aloasa spun around, making himself dizzy. A man stood in front of him, dressed in black armor. He held a sword in one hand, a tome in the other, and an axe was slung over his shoulder. "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you. Unless you're a bandit." "N-no," Aloasa coughed. "No bandits here." The man held out a blue bottle. "Here, drink this. Special elixir." Aloasa snatched the bottle and guzzled it. The man pulled out a piece of cloth and fixed it to Aloasa's side. "Who are you?" Aloasa asked suspiciously. "Name's Noel. I'm a vigilante of sorts. I've been tracking a bandit brigade for about a month now and I'm pretty sure their going to be arriving in this area any second now." "Looks like you've caught us," a man laughed from atop a tree. He pulled out a bow and aimed it at Aloasa and Noel. "Say goodnight-" The cried out as an arrow buried itself in his ribs and then again as he was knocked out of the tree by a Wind spell. Bella and Chase were in the air a few meters away. "We're getting pretty good at that," Chase said. Bella nodded in agreement. "There'll be more of them coming soon," Noel warned Aloasa. "Are those friends of yours?" "Uh...sure, you could say that," Aloasa said awkwardly. "Come on, I know a place with better weapons." Noel nodded and followed him as they ran back toward the Barracks. Chase and Bella flew ahead to warn the others. "Oh great," Eddie said to Aloasa. "First you get us into this mess, then you shoot Pika, and now you've brought bandits back?" "Actually that'd be my fault," Noel chucked. "Who are you?" Knifez asked. Noel introduced himself. "Well...uh...Noel...that's quite an arsenal you've got there." Sam gasped. "He's a Dread Fighter! I've always wanted one of those!" "Uh...thanks?" Noel said awkwardly. "Anyways, if you don't mind, those bandits are going to be here pretty soon...so..." "Right," Knifez said, "Alright Shepherds, let's go!" They all charged to meet the approaching horde of bandits. Aloasa's side was still burning from his javelin wound, but he used that pain to feel his power. "I'll kill you twice!" He shot an arrow into a Paladin's throat. Noel stood beside him, switching between his three weapons. Eddie, surprisingly, was on his other side, shooting magic spells when necessary. "So maybe I feel a little bit guilty about what I said earlier," Eddie said. "That's as good of an apology as you're going to get." Aloasa sighed, he'd take it. "We are such badasses!" Pika cheered as she dove down to stab a bandit. Sam threw in a spell for good measure. "Hey I just noticed this Pegasus has a horn. Do you think she can stab people with it?" "Uh, let's not find out," Sam suggested. Kate twirled around, stabbing enemies left and right. Her sword suddenly caught on a lance and was thrown aside. Two large Generals had her cornerned. Kate quickly pulled out a Rescue staff summoned Julius and Danica to her aid. "Hands off!" Danica shouted, stabbing with her lance. "Yeah, only my hands can be on her!" Julius added. "Ew, gross dad." "Sorry, my bad." Julius and Danica finished off the Generals and made sure Kate was okay. "You should wear that more often," Julius said flirtatiously. Kate blushed. "Oh gag," Danica groaned. "Can somebody else use a Rescue staff?" "Seems like you got the hang of flying just in time," DJ said as he and Spencer flew around stabbing and shooting things. The airspace was quickly getting filled with more bandits, which helped relieve the pressure off of some of the land units. "I have an idea!" DJ gasped. He leaned to the slid and slid off of the Pegasus. "FATHER!" Spencer screamed. DJ spun around, shooting anything that he saw that wasn't wearing Shepherds colors. Spencer flew down to catch him, but he wasn't going fast enough. Chase swooped up and caught DJ before he hit the ground. "I've been looking for you all day," DJ said. "Where were you?" "Training with Bella," Chase replied. He sat DJ back down on Spencer's Pegasus. "Do that again and I will kill you. Got it?" DJ flipped his hair. "You still thought it was hot, right?" Chase just blushed and didn't respond. "He so thought it was hot," DJ said confidently after Chase had flown away. "Father?" Spencer said. "Yes?" "I know I'm your son, but if you ever do that again, I will assist dad in killing you." "Oh. Uh, maybe you better go get me back to your dad." Spencer nodded and flew after Chase. "Mother!" Bohl said as Bella stopped by him on her horse. "I haven't see you in all day! I've learned to use a sword." Bella smiled. "Well so have I? Want to come with?" "No thanks you. I am Kjeld's sword partner. We call each other 'the bros' now." Kjeld rubbed the back of his neck. "Being friends with people is kind of new to both of us." Bella nodded in understanding and rode off to find Josh. "You know, I think I"m getting the hang of this," Florence said as she chopped off a bandit's head with her axe. Her flying form was terribly, but at least Janice had corrected it to the point where the wyvern wasn't in any pain. "That's...one way of putting it," Janice said as she added in a few stabs with her lance. Below her, Jayde rode around on her horse healing people, while Kelsie rode with her shooting spells. "You're holding your staff all wrong," Kelsie said with an exasperated sigh. "Kelsie I really don't care, I'm just a Troubadour to get dudes." "Fair enough," Kelse said as they continued fighting. The bandit chief finally emerged from where he was hiding, brandishing a large sword. The Shepherds all turned to look at him and the bandit chief soon realized he was extremely fucked. "Who wants first crack at him?" Knifez asked. He was answered with everyone rushing at the bandit chief at once. In the end, they never did find the body, but they figured it had just disintegrated during the fight. With the fight over, Noel packed up his things. "You could stay if you want," Aloasa offered. "You're kind of the only person here who I could tolerate for a long amount of time." Noel laughed. "Thanks, but I have to keep moving. Evil never rests, and good never sleeps or something like that. Don't worry. You're a valuable member of this team, even if the others don't treat you like it." Aloasa just shrugged. "Maybe our paths will cross again someday. I'll make a deal with you. If I ever meet up with the Shepherds again, and I see you, I'll consider joining. That's incentive for me to keep fighting for justice, and an incentive for you to stay with them. Deal?" "Deal," Aloasa nodded. He and Noel shared a quick dude-hug before the Dread Fighter set off on his next adventure. Aloasa sighed. There went his one friend. He heard someone walk up behind him. It was Pika. "What?" He asked. "I'm sorry for hitting you with the javelin earlier," Pika said. "I can see you're still hurt." Aloasa shrugged. Pika pulled out a staff. "Can I take care of it." Aloasa didn't respond, but let out a sigh as the healing magic fixed him up. "Thank you," he managed. "I'm sorry I shot you." Pika nodded and left. Aloasa sighed once more. He heard someone else coming out and thought it was Pika, but it was Eddie. "I told Knifez the real reason I was down in the convoy," Eddie said. Aloasa raised an eyebrow. "I figured it wasn't right to make you take all of the blame." "What'd he do to you?" Aloasa asked. "Punched me in the face and then told me I had cleaning duty for the next six months, in every location but the convoy," Eddie grumbled. "But you know, guess being part of the Shepherds has made me want to be kind of good." Aloasa nodded. "I know how you feel." Finally the next shipment of Second Seals came around and everyone was able to revert back to their classes. A few people decided to stick with their classes however. Chase didn't want to give up being a Dark Flier, and Bella decided to alternate between her available classes. Aloasa wanted to remain a Sniper, just so Noel wouldn't have any trouble recognizing him next time. Bohl and Kjeld went back to their former classes, but still agreed to be "the bros". "Alright Justice, you're the last one," Knifez said after everyone had cleared out after using the Second Seals. Justice nodded and took the seal, turning back into a Pegasus Knight. "It was fun being like you father," Justice said shyly. "I know I wasn't very good at using a sword, but it was nice." Knifez put his arm around Justice again. "You know I found something else we have in common." "Whats that?!" "We both look sexy as fuck in a Lord outfit." At first, Justice didn't say anything. "Yeah, we are sexy as fuck, aren't we?" Knifez ruffled his son's hair. "That's what you get from me, obviously. Er, don't tell your mother I said that." Category:Non-Canon